Here is a new story. I hope you enjoy :)
Chapter 1 - In the desert
Santana…
The first time she feared she was going to be stuck in that small town for the rest of her life was when her dad didn't allow her to try out for the cheerleaders. It surprised her that he was paying attention in the first place. The way he kept sitting in the swing on the back porch with a bottle in his hand, staring a hole into the dark night sky… she never got a reaction when she asked him for anything related to the house or the upbringing of her two younger brothers. But the minute she asked him about something just for herself, he raised his hand and said no.
Just no. He wouldn't even ask why she wanted to be on the cheerios. She wanted to tell him that she loved their performances. That watching them gave her some sort of hope for better times coming up after high school. He wasn't having it… instead he ordered her to bring him another bottle of whiskey.
She didn't do it though. If he wanted to drink himself to death then she certainly wasn't going to assist him. He wasn't going to run after her anyways. He wouldn't have been able to. Instead she grabbed the football that she almost stumbled over on her way back inside the house and yelled her brother's name.
"Tonyyyy!"
After a couple seconds she heard him opening the door to his room.
"What?"
She could see his tousled black hair all over the place when his head appeared in the door.
"Did you finish your homework?" Santana wanted to know. Tony shrugged.
"Don't have any."
Santana narrowed her eyes.
"That can't be. You always have homework on Tuesdays."
After a minute of talking back and forth, Tony somehow managed to make her believe he didn't have homework that day. Maybe she also chose to believe so. She was tired of fighting with her brother over stuff like that. He was thirteen. Who was she to tell him what to do anymore? She was only three years older so it wasn't like her responsibility or anything.
It sure felt like it at times.
She let Tony go back to do whatever he was doing in his room and made her way to her own room. The door was open and she found her other brother Iker sitting on her bed instead of his. He was reading his favorite comic book for probably the ninety-seventh time.
"How many times do I have to tell you to take off your shoes when you lie down on my bed, huh?" Santana put her free hand on her hip to emphasize her words. The other hand was still holding the football.
Iker gave her a cute grin that spread from one ear to the other.
"How many times do I have to tell you that your bed is way comfier than mine? I want it." Iker responded like it was no big deal.
Santana huffed playfully.
"And where am I going to sleep then?" She looked at Iker's tiny bed on the other side of the room. "I won't fit in there."
Iker shrugged and went back to reading in his book.
"Neither do I anymore. Dad won't buy me a new bed. He says it's too expensive."
Santana sighed. She knew that. It wasn't like she had been ignoring the fact that her brother needed a new bed. What was she supposed to do though? For once she agreed with their father. It was too expensive. That's also why he said no to the cheerleading idea. The uniforms and everything weren't for free.
Well… it was only too expensive because they didn't have the money. If only her dad tried harder to get more jobs. He wasn't bad at what he did. He was a craftsman and he used to do everything on his own whenever something broke around the house.
"You know what? I'll ask abuela if she still needs that bed in her guestroom. Maybe we can borrow it until we have enough money to buy you your own bed. What do you say?" Santana suggested with a light voice, trying to cover up the frustration.
Iker pulled a face.
"It smells like cat food…"
Santana rolled her eyes. Again, she knew that, too.
"Well it's better than what you have now. I'll wash the sheets and everything. If you help me with the dishes for a whole week then I'll try to get one or two extra shifts at the bar, ok? That way I'll get the money for your bed in no time."
Iker smiled at Santana, then waved her over.
When she sat down next to him, he gave her a hug.
"Can we play before I have to go to bed?" He asked when grabbing the football out of Santana's hand.
"You're eight years old. It's already past your bedtime, buddy" She countered but it was a lost battle. Whenever Iker gave her the puppy look, she knew she was going to give in sooner or later.
"Just fifteen minutes, pleeeease" He begged. Santana pretended to be thinking.
"Ten"
"Thirteen?"
"No. Ten."
"Ok…"
Iker jumped up from the bed and ran into the hallway. Santana chuckled when she heard his excited giggles. She chose to ignore the big pile of laundry in the corner of their room on her way out.
It could wait another day…
/
An hour later she was lying in her bed and reading in a book for school. It was a good book. She loved the plot as well as the characters in it. Especially the main character. Her name was Macy and she was described to be this super pretty waitress who aspired to be a veterinarian. Although Santana didn't want to become a vet, she could relate to Macy's dreams. To get out of the small town she grew up in… move to a big city where the possibilities were endless.
You could become a vet, a lawyer, a singer, a model, a rich real estate agent…
Santana pictured herself out there. A nice house with a green garden and so much money to spend on pretty things. Like a new set of acrylic paint. Or one of those microphones you could use to sing karaoke with your friends. Or the softest sheets and fluffiest pillows for Iker because she'd take him with her. Tony probably wouldn't want to live with them. He had other stuff on his mind like computer games.
Well, he could have lived above the garage in a room with a new computer and one of those large chairs that you sink into. He probably would have liked that a lot…
Iker's soft snoring pulled her from her fantasies. She looked down to her left and found her brother snuggling up to her elbow.
"Goodnight, San" He mumbled in his sleep. Santana kissed his forehead before turning off the lamp on her nightstand.
"Sweet dreams" She whispered and tried to find a comfortable position with the tiny space she had left. Iker was small but he always took so much room in her bed.
She turned her head so she could look out the window. She never closed the curtains. She loved gazing at the dark sky illuminated by the stars. They made her feel calm. Like something was out there waiting for her. Something big and sparkly, ready to be explored.
/
Brittany…
She always thought she'd be happy to leave Las Vegas behind one day. Well, she didn't hate it. It was everything she knew up to that point. But she always pictured how she'd pack her bags one day and say: "Mom, I'm leaving. You'll see me on stage in a couple months." Somewhere in California maybe. Or New York. Or another crazy place like that.
She always thought she'd leave voluntarily. So she could go back if she ever wanted to. To visit her mom or her neighbor's three cats that sometimes sneaked into their apartment. They were the only good thing about that crappy old building…
She didn't however picture her departure like that.
One heavy suitcase in her hand with basically her whole life in it, sweat forming on the back of her neck. If there was one thing she certainly wasn't going to miss, then it was the heat in July.
Oh well, she wasn't moving that far away. There was probably heat in small towns a little outside, too but something about the tourists, the lights and the adventures of this city always made her believe that it was the hottest place on earth and that she'd be able to breathe better if she stepped out of it. Like there was an invisible border or something that would immediately bring change to the sensation on her skin.
However… she didn't think she'd have to leave because she didn't have a place to stay anymore. She didn't think she'd have to stuff everything into a suitcase and just leave without looking back.
She certainly didn't think her mom would end up in prison.
Although… there were things in the past that sometimes made Brittany fear that something like that wasn't exactly impossible to happen. Like when her mom stole money or when she didn't pay for the bills that she hid in the cupboard underneath the sink. Brittany didn't want to know what her mom did when she didn't come home for the whole night because she was staying with a man she met at the club. Brittany knew they weren't just having dinner.
They were doing all kinds of stuff. Some became her mom's boyfriends for a while until she'd get bored. They weren't all bad. Sometimes they bought her mom and Brittany nice things. Frank had been Brittany's favorite. He seemed sincere. He even paid for a new school bag because her old one got stolen. Brittany had cried all night because her Walkman had been in it…
Frank was a nice guy and he was also the one to give Brittany a ride to her aunt's trailer - her new home. Brittany had almost hoped that Frank would offer to stay with him. That way she wouldn't have to move to a small town.
The thought made Brittany close her eyes for a moment. She was standing on the side of the road, waiting for Frank's car to appear any moment. She listened to the familiar noises surrounding her, felt the burning sun on her shoulders and she remembered the look on her mother's face when they saw each other for the last time. Brittany could see the shame and the guilt. Her sad eyes gave her away.
Brittany had never seen her like that. Her mom was the prettiest woman she had ever seen. She was the best dancer and she had the funniest laugh. Brittany learned all her dance moves by watching her mother practice for the club.
It wasn't illegal stuff or anything… just dancing. It spoke to Brittany on a level she couldn't put into words. Dancing was her language sometimes. Her thing that kept her sane when her mom didn't come home for endless hours.
To see her mother sad made Brittany sad, too. Maybe she wasn't always there but she was still her mother who had consoled her when she was a child and hurt her knee or something.
Brittany opened her eyes when she heard a car coming to a halt next to her. It was Frank. He squeezed her shoulder once he had helped her to put the suitcase into the back.
"Sorry about your mom, Brittany." He said when they drove off. Brittany swallowed thickly.
She was sorry, too. She was sorry she didn't give her mother a tighter hug when she had the chance. She was sorry she couldn't stay with Frank. She was sorry she had to leave the cats behind.
She didn't remember a lot about aunt Patty. She had seen her maybe once or twice when she was a child. She had this trailer and a TV and always some sweet fruit in a basket. That's all she remembered.
Brittany was seventeen… living in a trailer wasn't exactly what she had hoped for. She needed space. She wanted to practice her dancing and listen to music. All of that wasn't going to be possible anymore.
/
Brittany had lost track of time but they arrived at the trailer park in the early evening. It was comfortably warm when Frank lifted Brittany's suitcase out of the trunk. They awkwardly stood in front of each other when it was time to say goodbye. For good, probably…
"Listen, I've got something for you before I head back." Frank said before reaching through the opened window of his car. He grabbed a package and handed it to Brittany.
She didn't expect to get a gift and felt bad for not being able to return something. She ripped the brown paper and when her eyes found a brand-new Walkman with earphones, she could have cried instantly. She pulled herself together with everything she had left and reached her hand out to thank Frank.
"I don't know what to say" She muttered when they shook hands. His warm hand made her feel safe for a second. She knew it wasn't going to last though.
"Don't worry about it, Brittany. Keep your head up, alright?"
Brittany nodded. She watched how Frank got back into the car. He smiled at her once more before he took off. Brittany kept her eyes on his car until it was just a small dot and disappeared eventually.
She took a deep breath. It surprised her to feel a certain lightness in her chest, considering the fact that she was standing at a tipping point in her life and after everything that had happened in the past couple days.
She put the Walkman into her bag and grabbed the heavy suitcase. She didn't remember where exactly her aunt lived but she was going to find it eventually. There weren't too many options and somehow everything did look a little bit familiar.
Just a tiny little bit.
let me know if you're interested in this :)
bobbieyoung